Brno winner KTM remained in front as the first of MotoGP’s back to back Red Bull Ring weekends began, with Pol Espargaro topping opening practice in Austria.
Espargaro had been fuming at the end of the Czech Republic Grand Prix, having crashed out of the race in an incident with Johann Zarco and then watched team-mate Brad Binder take KTM’s first MotoGP win.
At the Red Bull Ring Espargaro was rapid throughout practice one, leading both the initial part of the session and then the qualifying-style runs at the end.
He stayed 0.044s clear of Andrea Dovizioso – Ducati getting back on the pace at one of its traditional strongholds.
Joan Mir made a late leap to put Suzuki third, then had his lap deleted for going too fast under yellows for a heavy crash for Bradley Smith. That elevated top Honda runner Takaaki Nakagami into the top three. Alex Rins kept Suzuki near the front in fourth.
With a very turbulent weather forecast for the weekend, teams all know that any practice session might end up setting the Q2 field.
The factory Yamahas of Maverick Vinales and Valentino Rossi, down in 11th and 13th, are among those with work to do on that front.
But the Petronas SRT Yamahas both fared better – Franco Morbidelli and Fabio Quartararo going fifth and 10th quickest.
Brno podium finisher Johann Zarco shone again in sixth for Avintia Ducati, but last week’s winner Binder was only 16th.
Practice 1 Results
| Pos | Name | Team | Bike | Gap Next | Gap Leader | Best Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pol Espargaró | Red Bull KTM Factory Racing | KTM | 1m24.193s | ||
| 2 | Andrea Dovizioso | Ducati Team | Ducati | +0.044s | +0.044s | 1m24.237s |
| 3 | Takaaki Nakagami | LCR Honda | Honda | +0.141s | +0.185s | 1m24.378s |
| 4 | Alex Rins | Team Suzuki MotoGP | Suzuki | +0.195s | +0.38s | 1m24.573s |
| 5 | Franco Morbidelli | Petronas Yamaha SRT | Yamaha | +0.015s | +0.395s | 1m24.588s |
| 6 | Johann Zarco | Avintia Racing | Ducati | +0.067s | +0.462s | 1m24.655s |
| 7 | Miguel Oliveira | Red Bull KTM Tech 3 | KTM | +0.063s | +0.525s | 1m24.718s |
| 8 | Jack Miller | Pramac Racing | Ducati | +0.006s | +0.531s | 1m24.724s |
| 9 | Joan Mir | Team Suzuki MotoGP | Suzuki | +0.019s | +0.55s | 1m24.743s |
| 10 | Fabio Quartararo | Petronas Yamaha SRT | Yamaha | +0.01s | +0.56s | 1m24.753s |
| 11 | Maverick Viñales | Yamaha Factory Racing | Yamaha | +0.026s | +0.586s | 1m24.779s |
| 12 | Danilo Petrucci | Ducati Team | Ducati | +0.058s | +0.644s | 1m24.837s |
| 13 | Valentino Rossi | Yamaha Factory Racing | Yamaha | +0.029s | +0.673s | 1m24.866s |
| 14 | Cal Crutchlow | LCR Honda | Honda | +0.078s | +0.751s | 1m24.944s |
| 15 | Iker Lecuona | Red Bull KTM Tech 3 | KTM | +0.047s | +0.798s | 1m24.991s |
| 16 | Brad Binder | Red Bull KTM Factory Racing | KTM | +0.014s | +0.812s | 1m25.005s |
| 17 | Michele Pirro | Pramac Racing | Ducati | +0.147s | +0.959s | 1m25.152s |
| 18 | Aleix Espargaró | Aprilia Racing Team Gresini | Aprilia | +0.013s | +0.972s | 1m25.165s |
| 19 | Alex Marquez | Repsol Honda Team | Honda | +0.084s | +1.056s | 1m25.249s |
| 20 | Bradley Smith | Aprilia Racing Team Gresini | Aprilia | +0.048s | +1.104s | 1m25.297s |
| 21 | Stefan Bradl | Repsol Honda Team | Honda | +0.074s | +1.178s | 1m25.371s |
| 22 | Tito Rabat | Avintia Racing | Ducati | +0.358s | +1.536s | 1m25.729s |
Misano races to allow spectators
Next month’s two rounds of the 2020 MotoGP championship at Misano will be open to spectators, organisers have confirmed, with up to 10,000 people being allowed to attend the two Italian races.
Stefano Bonaccini, president of the region of Emilia-Romagna, yesterday signed a waiver for the track, allowing it an exception from the still-strict Italian rules on sporting events having no more than 1000 people in attendance.
A statement released by his office said “following an investigation carried out by the General Directorate of Personal Care, Health and Welfare, the region has assessed that the organisers have worked towards preparing various scenarios on the turn-out of spectators”.
Only the grandstands will be open and even then they will be held at 25% capacity, meaning that 10,000 of the usual 40,000 people will be admitted to the stands. The grass banking sections of the track will remain closed.
Names and contact details of all spectators will also be recorded and stored, so that contact-tracing can be conducted after the event should coronavirus cases be detected.
It remains to be confirmed just how the 30,000 tickets for the weekend will be allocated. Some tracks have suggested lotteries or rewarding long-time attendees as they slowly reintroduce fans to their events, but Misano has yet to announce its approach.
It will mark the first time this season that fans will be allowed to attend races, but it is believed that it will be used as a test case for the remainder of the year, with MotoGP’s newest race at Algarve already selling tickets on its website for November’s Portuguese Grand Prix.
